A portrait of elite fighting men at their best that will appeal to a largely male readership.
Nuts-and-bolts accounts of Special Forces missions.
Military writers Zimmerman (First Command: Paths to Leadership, 2006, etc.) and Gresham (DEFCON-2: Standing on the Brink of Nuclear War During the Cuban Missile Crisis, 2006, etc.) recount seven operations of the past four decades, undertaken in places including Vietnam and Iraq. They show a SEAL team on the ground plucking two downed fliers from the midst of a major North Vietnam offensive after 14 air rescuers had already died in the attempt. They dissect a complex operation in which elite attack-helicopter teams flew far beyond their normal range to destroy Iraqi radar sites, opening the way for air strikes before the first Gulf War. In the Second Gulf War, half a dozen Green Berets slipped 350 miles inside Iraq, hid near a major road and military concentration site, called in intelligence and devastating air strikes, then withdrew after ten days without firing a shot. Some operations depicted here were misfires. A brilliantly executed 1970 operation to rescue prisoners in North Vietnam went off without a hitch, but the camp turned out to be empty. The operation known to most readers is the disastrous 1979 attempt to rescue American hostages held in Iran. The authors relate the excruciating details, emphasizing the lessons our forces learned and not neglecting the opportunity to criticize a Democratic president. Their narrative provides solid entertainment for military buffs with its densely technical descriptions of weapons, training and tactics, an avalanche of acronyms and the traditional purplish prose. Zimmerman and Gresham don’t conceal their contempt for the Hollywood version of special ops: colorful but insubordinate soldiers, missions described as suicidal, big explosions, a dazzling triumph despite crippling casualties. In the real world, they remind us, brains and teamwork trump heroism, and planners reject operations likely to fail. Five out of seven represents a reasonable success rate.
A portrait of elite fighting men at their best that will appeal to a largely male readership.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-312-36387-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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